The Cincinnati Bengals added veteran TE Mike Gesicki on a sort of one-year “prove-it” deal. They’re banking on his returning to the numbers he put up just a couple years ago with the Miami Dolphins. Over the past two seasons, he hasn’t received the looks in the passing game he had previously, but they believe they can feed him with QB Joe Burrow.
A former second-round pick, Gesicki posted a career-high 73 receptions for 780 yards in 2021. A year later, under Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins shifted to a receiver-heavy offense after adding Tyreek Hill. Hill alone commanded 170 targets, with Jaylen Waddle adding another 117, Gesicki third with 52 in 17 games played.
Asked if he believes he can still produce the way he did just two years ago, Gesicki told the Bengals’ website, “I would like to think so”. He expressed the believe that it’s a matter of staying health, but also recognizes the weapons Cincinnati has.
After all, the Bengals arguably have just as formidable a wide receiver duo in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. They also still have Drew Sample at tight end, but he does not command a significant number of targets.
Between 2019-2021, Gesicki caught 177 of 286 targets for 2,053 yards and 13 touchdowns. He averaged 11.6 yards per reception, with a very low drop rate. Some of that came with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback, the rest of Tua Tagovailoa before breaking out under McDonald.
As for Burrow, he still manages to find his tight ends even with a bevy of wide receivers. In his last full season in 2022, he found Hayden Hurst for 52 completions, going for 414 yards. And that was while navigating three receivers with 80-plus targets and a running back with 75.
After parting with RB Joe Mixon, in fact, there is more room for a tight end like Gesicki. They’re also very unlikely at this point to retain Tyler Boyd, who remains a free agent, so Gesicki could be the third target in this offense.
Bengals tight ends coach James Casey compared Gesicki to former first-round TE Tyler Eifert. “Mike’s more explosive, but both could go up and make the contested catch”, he said. Eifert’s career flamed out due to a litany of injuries, playing just one full season in eight years. He missed 54 games over the course of his career, an average of nearly seven per year.
Gesicki has been more fortunate, having missed just one game in his six-year career. He played all 17 games for the New England Patriots last season, his first since leaving Miami. But they targeted him just 45 times, catching 29 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns.
I’m sure Gesicki is hoping for big numbers this offseason to parlay that into the payday he never got to have. He played under the franchise tag in 2022 after completing his rookie contract and signed for just a $4.5 million deal last year in New England. If he can put up a 75-750-7 stat line, even at 29 in 2025, perhaps he can get that bigger deal that has eluded him thus far.
